Oneshots
by VibeQuake
Summary: Basically all the one-shots that I write will be posted in this one story. At the beginning of each chapter I will outline a short summary and which previous story or stories you should read.
1. Reunion

**Summary:** a missing scene from Field Trip  
 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** Field Trip

...

Reuben truly hated himself.

He had violated the oath he made all those years ago; to never help anyone who either had malicious intent or was trying to harm an agent. To make things worse, he had done both.

He couldn't help it, though. He loved Maria with all his heart, and seeing her trapped in a cage nearly destroyed him.

While sitting at his desk in his office, he reassured himself that Maria would be fine. After all, he had done everything that that psychopath had told him to do, down to the letter. Still…he hadn't seen her in a couple of weeks now…it made him worry.

To make himself feel better, he went through in his head some of the good times they had had: from their meeting at a coffee shop in LA; to their first date, ice skating in Danville; to his proposal in the middle of her flower shop, surrounded by flowers. He had given her a ring with a rose made of diamond on it. She had practically fainted. He had almost done the same when she said yes.

"Reuben?"

Reuben nearly fell out of his chair. He had been so deep in thought, that he hadn't noticed the small, teal-coloured platypus agent come in.

"Oh, Perry. Wh-what are you doing up so early?" He looked at the clock on the wall. It was six a.m. "Oh, okay. It's not that early," he finished lamely.

"Reuben, I know."

"K-know what?" Reuben stammered, his heart racing.

"I know that you helped Thanatos to try and hurt Priya, but I don't care."

"You don't?"

Reuben was not expecting this.

"I don't. Because I know why you did it. You didn't do it because you wanted to, you did it because you had to protect someone you care a lot about."

Reuben stared down at his desk, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Perry. I didn't have a choice, I couldn't-."

"I know," Perry interrupted. "We defeated the guy and found your fiancée. She's safe."

"What?"

A woman stepped into the doorway. She was wearing her favourite knee-length yellow dress with a white daisy on it, with floral pumps. Her long brown hair was just as neatly brushed as ever. She looked slightly malnourished and dehydrated, but she had that same kind smile on her face. Reuben couldn't help staring. "Maria…!" he whispered.

He ran around his desk and Maria leapt into his arms. They hugged tightly for what seemed like hours, neither wanting to let the other go. Reuben's eyes were tightly shut, but it couldn't stop a few tears leaking out. Everything was okay now. Maria was safe.

"I love you, Maria," Reuben managed to croak.

His fiancée relaxed completely in his arms. "I love you too, Reuben."

He opened his eyes and saw the smiling face of Perry the Platypus, the agent who had saved his fiancée. He mouthed _thank you._ The words seemed too little to describe how intensely grateful Reuben was at that moment, but everything that Reuben couldn't express in words must have been displayed on his face because Perry nodded back and left the room.

"Dinner is on me every day until we're married," Reuben said to his fiancée. "Maybe even after we're married."

Maria laughed, and Reuben smiled at the sound, a sound that he had been worried that he would never hear again. "Sounds good. But for now, how about we go get breakfast?"


	2. A Day At The Water Park

**Summary:** Teddy and the gang's trip to the water park  
 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** preferably Teddy's Adulthood but can be read as standalone

...

 **Teddy's POV**

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE HERE!" shrieks Hazel, rushing through the gate.

"Slow down!" I call.

"She doesn't mind that she's coming with her big brother and his friends?" Piper asks.

We watch as Hazel dives straight into the pool with the wave machine.

"Nope," I say.

"I want to go on Jungle Mayhem," Nick says, perching on Piper's shoulder.

"You really want to go on something with "mayhem" in the title?" says Lennie incredulously. "After that whole maze thing?"

"I'm focusing on the "jungle" part," Nick confesses. "It's supposed to be a really fast ride."

Piper consults the map. "Jungle Mayhem," she reads. "An epic adventure of a water slide. Start lying down and get launched up and down over trees and jungle animals."

"Sounds fun," Lennie comments.

"I personally can't wait to go on the River Monorail with Piper," I say, linking hands with my mate.

"And I am outta here." Nick takes off from Piper's shoulder. "I'm off to Jungle Mayhem."

Lennie follows, calling, "I'll come with you."

Hazel comes running back to us, soaking wet. "They have a wave machine!" she yells. "It's so fun!"

"You don't need to yell, Hazel, we're two feet in front of you."

"This place is awesome!" Hazel shouts, ignoring me. "Teddy, I need you to come on this ride with me."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because it looks awesome but I'm too small so I need an adult with me."

"How do you know I don't want to go with Piper?"

Hazel takes my hand. "Because this ride's too fast for her, now come on!"

She starts dragging me towards a ride called Wipeout. "That's a good sign," I mutter.

However, it turns out to be quite enjoyable. It's fast but bearably so, and it doesn't spin people round, which is my pet peeve with water slides. I find out that the reason it's called Wipeout is because you're dumped rather unceremoniously into a pool of water at the end. It's dark and it has a lot of hidden dips but overall it is very fun. Hazel and I go on it again, then Piper comes on with us. Turns out that Hazel thinks Piper prefers tamer rides but Piper actually likes medium rides.

After that, Piper and I go on the River Monorail. It's like a train monorail except instead of cars, it's little tubs of water that you sit in and get carried along a track above everybody's heads. We sat with our arms around each other and looked at the scenery. The Otto H. Adjacent Water Park is basically in the middle of nowhere, so on one side of the park you can see miles of open deserts, and on the other side you can see the lights and buildings of Danville and the Tri-State Area. It's beautiful.

Next, all five of us go on Jungle Mayhem. It's a bit too extreme for me but I gladly watch our bags while everybody else goes on it again.

Then we all go on an open slide called Rainbow, so named because there are seven slides and they are all—yep, you guessed it—coloured each with a colour of the rainbow. We sit on rubber tubes and fly down a slide.

Before lunch, the five of us go on the River Rapids ride, which I have to say is my favourite ride of the day. It has the relaxing elements of the monorail but the thrill of other rides. We coast along a river in a small tub—like the tubes on Rainbow but bigger and with a floor—and go down short slides and round bends and over rapids and under waterfalls.

After that, we sit and eat lunch. Before the trip, Mom made everybody lunch, even for Piper, Lennie, and Nick. She knows us all so well; all of us have our favourite sandwich filling.

I munch my Nutella sandwich as I watch people go down a slide called Intensity, which looks terrifying. It has two slides. People start a hundred feet in the air, lying down, and slide down a near-vertical drop for forty feet before it evens out at ten feet and abruptly drops them into a pool at the other end. I can hear Lennie and Nick chatting about the slide and daring each other to go on it.

Piper and Hazel are comparing photos. Each of the girls has a camera, and they've been taking pictures throughout the day.

Lennie and Nick both decide to go on Intensity together. They've made a bet: the first one to scream on the ride loses and has to go on it again. It doesn't seem like such a big punishment to me until I realise that the slide is freaking terrifying and most likely neither Nick nor Lennie will want to go on it again. The girls and I watch them climb the stairs. I go to a good vantage point and film the event on my phone. Hazel bursts out laughing as both agents begin screaming. Piper and I soon join her in laughing as we see the chameleon and the egret flailing around wildly.

As they're dumped in the pool, we go to meet them, still laughing. Nick seems traumatised but Lennie shakes off his fur and calmly admits that he was the one who screamed first.

Now, I know that Nick is the one who lost the bet. However, I think Lennie sees that Nick won't survive another go on the slide, so the four of us are treated to Lennie going down the slide again, just as hilariously as last time.

We go on our favourite rides several more times until we're sick of them. Then for the rest of the day, we sit in the pool with the wave machine and chat while gently floating around on the waves.

It is the perfect end to a perfect day. And my favourite photo? A selfie that Piper and I took on my phone when we were up on the monorail, with the twinkling lights of Danville in the background.


	3. Parents' Concern

**Summary:** missing scene from Hazel's Mission  
 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** Hazel's Mission (ESSENTIAL)

...

 **Karen's POV**

We rush into the hospital wing to find our son lying in a hospital bed, deathly pale. Hazel is sitting on his other side, her eyes looking into space.

"No…!" I whisper. "Not Parker! Not after May!"

Hazel catches sight of us. "Harry, Karen. I'm…so sorry…"

She starts crying. I go around the bed and hug her comfortingly. "It's not your fault."

"No, it is," she sobs. "He saved me. He took the shot that was meant for me."

"Then you would have died," I tell her.

"He made his decision," adds Harry. "He loves you so much. You should have heard the things he was saying about you when we said we didn't want him to go on the mission to help you."

Hazel looks saddened. "But if he dies…"

"He's not going to die," says Apollo's voice.

We all turn and see the doctor coming towards us. "We were able to successfully operate. The bullet had exited the wound so we only had to fix some internal damage, and thanks to his tough skin, the wound is closing up as we speak. He should be conscious within the hour."

"And what if he isn't?" asks Hazel fearfully.

"I'm 100% sure he will be," says Apollo.

And we all know that Apollo doesn't say that lightly. Hazel presses the back of her paw to her beak as if she's about to cry. Harry and I hug each other tightly.

…

 **Harry's POV**

Sure enough, twenty-six minutes later, our son wakes up. Karen smothers him in hugs and kisses, while I just hug his shoulders and tell him how glad I am that he's okay.

Hazel's hanging back. I know that she wants to give us a private moment together.

 **Hazel's POV**

I know what my choice is now.

Harry and Karen step away and I go to Parker's side. "Thank you," I whisper.

Parker smiles. "Anything for you, you know that, right?"

"I do," I tell him. "And…if you still want me…I want to be with you."

He looks surprised. "But what about Jolyon?"

"I still like Jolyon but I have no romantic attraction to him at all." I know it's the truth. "I love you, Parker."

"I love you too, Hazel. W-will you be my mate for life?"

My eyes fill up with tears again. "Of course!"

We hug tightly.

 **Harry's POV**

I'm so happy right now. Not only has my son pulled through, but he has a mate now. Not just a mate; the person about whom he cares most. Hazel the Platypus.

The girl he took a bullet for.


	4. Diana Fay

**Summary:** story detailing Perry and Diana's first meeting **  
** **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** none really

...

The forest was a lot larger than I remembered. As I sprinted full-pelt through the trees, I once again realised that both my hands were hanging by my side. Cursing myself for forgetting, I put my left hand back on the large, bloody claw marks on my right bicep.

 _Focus, Di. You need to get out of here alive, and if you forget about your injury too many times, you're going to bleed out._

The roar behind me made me increase my speed to almost breaking point. Hurdling roots and sidestepping logs, I was nearly to the end of the forest.

 _Come on…_

My speciality was illusion but unfortunately I still had not learned to manipulate the Mist. I could become invisible from demigods, mortals, and normal earth animals, but not gods or monsters. And the monster behind me was REALLY annoyed with me.

 _Please don't vaporise me for this, Gaia._

With a quick wave of my hand, I topple a tree, slide under the trunk before it hits, and carry on running, knowing that this tree was not going to be enough to keep the monster occupied for long. In fact, I might have even supplied it with ammo.

Sure enough, I hear a mighty crack and the noise of air whistling. I turn my head and nearly have a heart attack as I see the heavy brown missile come flying towards me. I quickly turn it to ice and stop dead. It flies just over my head and shatters into a million pieces. I hurriedly resume running, dodging all the bigger and sharper pieces.

I feel thankful now that this morning I put on the soft, flexible white leggings, rather than the pair of jeans I nearly wore. Jeans would have been hard to run in. I'm also glad I chose to wear a t-shirt instead of a long-sleeved top; if I had, I would have had to rip the sleeves off to get to my injury, and that would have wasted time.

I once learned about this thing in school; I can't remember what it was called, but it happens when you're running consistently for a long time. You no longer feel tired, and you feel like you can go on forever. It was something to do with "equilibrium"?

Anyway, that's what I had achieved. My limbs were sore but manageably so. My breathing was slowing but I was saving oxygen. I felt like I could run to the moon and back.

Then I felt the ground shake and rumble. Off balance, I tumbled over and hit a tree. Adding a sore back and a twisted leg to my list of injuries, I stood up and quickly hid behind the tree as the dragon stormed into the clearing. I held my breath.

 _Please, Mother, don't let the dragon find me. If you're watching me, or if you care about me in any way, let me escape this one._

That was when my mother granted me a new power.

Before this moment, I had only inherited two of my mother's powers: mystiokinesis (power of magic) and illusion. Well, I also had the power of prophecy, but to do with betting, like in casinos. I could always predict what number or card was going to be next. I could have made my fortune in casinos, but up until now I had no need for lots of money.

But now I felt as if my desperate need to be somewhere else had triggered something inside me. I reached out my hand and out of it came this black and purple material. It noiselessly spiralled into a circle right in front of me. Black and purple electricity danced around the outside of it, and inside there was black.

I had just created a portal from my own hands.

But I had no time to delve deeper than that. I had no time to wonder where and when this portal would take me. The last thing I heard as I jumped through the portal was the roar of the dragon.

…

I wish I could say my first portal jump was graceful but it wasn't.

I landed on my head.

That stunned me quite a lot. I lay where I hit, lying on my back. I knew I had to try and cover my injury on my arm but my head hurt too much to move. My sore leg and back were…well…sore, but I just breathed in and out.

To anger the monster that much, I had cut both its wings off, which was why it had only been able to run after me. That was over six hours ago. I had been running and dodging that monster ever since. I had been running in that forest for almost an hour straight. It had tracked me down, hunted me. No wonder; I had cut off its wings. In return, it had swallowed my sword. It didn't matter about the sword, though. It had no value to me. I had been given it by Camp Half-Blood just before I had left forever. I felt sorry that I had left Chiron without saying goodbye, but I hadn't wanted to make a scene.

All of a sudden, I saw something looking down at me. To my hazy eyes, it looked like a teal duck in a fedora. It looked concerned as it said, "Are you okay?"

"Talking duck?" I slurred.

The thing grinned. "I'm a platypus. The name's Perry."

"Diana Fay," I said.

Perry caught sight of the injury on my arm. "Did you get ravaged by a lion?"

"Dragon, actually."

"Did you say-?"

"Yeah, you heard me."

I sat up and held my arm. "Where are we?"

"Danville, USA," replied Perry, looking both confused and concerned at the same time. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"My leg feelings like it's a daisy being picked really slowly," I replied. "Danville…is that near Long Island?"

"Um, no. Not really."

"Thank goodness. That's where most of the monsters live. Please don't go "monsters?!" because it's really annoying when you repeat everything I say," I added, as Perry opened his beak.

He shrugged. "If I take you inside, will you explain everything?"

"Inside where?"

"Well, you kind of are on my front yard."

I looked around. Behind me was a house, a suburban house, in the middle of a street. "Sorry."

"Just come in. I'm sure my host family won't mind."

I tried to put weight on my foot but it didn't work and I had to sit down again. "I can't stand," I told Perry.

The platypus thought for a second. Then he said, "Stay there, I'll get someone to help you."

He ran inside and came back within a minute, with two boys behind him. They were about thirteen years old, and one of them had a triangular head.

"What happened to you?" the red-haired one asked. "Are you okay?"

"I can't walk," I told them. "I need help."

"Okay."

The two boys each put one of my arms over their shoulders, but as the green-haired boy moves my right arm, I snatched it away. Then he caught sight of my injury and said in a British accent, "Ah, Phin? You're going to have to carry her yourself."

"Why?" asked "Phin", just before he too spotted my injury. "Ah. That's why."

He lifted me up. As I put weight on my foot, pain shot up my leg and I inhaled sharply. Together, the two boys helped me inside and lay me down on the sofa in the living room. The green-haired boy began bandaging my arm up while the other boy went to make me some tea. Perry sat on my lap like a house pet.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Ferb Fletcher," replied the boy. "And my stepbrother's Phineas Flynn."

"I'm Diana Fay," I said.

Phineas came back in with a cup of tea, which he placed on the table next to me, within my reach.

"So how old are you?" Phineas asked.

"I'm twenty-eight."

Phineas and Ferb looked at me, clearly startled. "What? But you look eighteen!" protested Phineas.

"What…?" It took several moments for me to realise what he was talking about. "Ah."

I let the illusion drop. Phineas, Ferb, and Perry both actually jumped back as my true age was shown.

"How…?" muttered Perry.

"You know all those Greek gods and monsters and heroes?"

They all nodded.

"Well, at least in my universe, they all really exist."

There was a stunned silence following this. Then: "Okay," said Phineas.

"Okay?" I repeated. "You're all okay with Greek gods existing?"

"Trust me, that's not the weirdest thing we've ever heard," Ferb said dryly.

"Anyway, these gods sometimes have kids with mortals, creating half-gods called demigods. My mother is the Greek goddess Hecate, goddess of magic."

"That's awesome!" Phineas grinned.

"Then did you inherit some of your mom's powers?" asked Ferb. "That's generally how things work, isn't it?"

"Yes. I inherited the power of illusion, which was how I was able to look eighteen instead of twenty-eight; I can predict the future but only in casinos; I have minor control over magic; and now I can apparently create portals to other universes."

"So you come from another universe?" asked Perry.

I nodded. "That's right. In my universe, a dragon attacked me so I cut its wings off."

All three of them grimaced. "That's not very nice," Phineas commented.

"What you have to know about Greek monsters is that they're all, well, just that. Monsters. Very, very few are even civil, let alone friendly. It's kill or be killed, and I chose to kill. Though of course I tried not to actually kill. I don't like killing."

"Sorry. Carry on."

"Anyway, that just made him mad and he chased me through a forest for ages. My mum gave me a new powers and I opened a portal and came through to here."

"Perry?" called a female voice suddenly. "Where are you?"

"In the living room!" Perry shouted back. "Wait, I'll come to you. There's something I have to tell you."

He leapt off the couch and disappeared.

"I'm guessing your injury was the dragon?" Ferb said.

"Yes, it was. That's why I asked you how far from Long Island Danville is, but if I'm in a different universe…chances are the Greek gods won't exist here. I can live peacefully here."

"You're going to stay?" asked Phineas.

I nodded. "I need to rest up. I will go back for a visit but I think it's safer if I live here."

Perry came back into the living room, holding the paw of a purple platypus. "This is my mate, Priya."

"Hi." I smiled. "I'm Diana Fay. Has Perry explained my situation?"

Priya nodded. "He has. I just want you to know that even though I don't really know you, if you need anything, you can ask me."

"Thank you, Priya."

"No worries."

And that was the beginning of my life in Danville of another universe, away from the gods and monsters and prophecies and strife of being the daughter of Hecate.


	5. The End Of An Era

**Summary:** two sisters have a chat about their changing lives.

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** preferably New Life and/or Teddy's Adulthood, because otherwise you won't know who these two characters are, but can be read as standalone.

 **Author's Note: this story takes place in 2025, or about the same time the second part of Hermes's Struggle**

…

Rai and Shika had moved out of their parents' house just two months ago, and were living in an apartment on their own in downtown Danville. Currently, the two had just finished their two-year college courses. Rai had done hers in secretarial, administration, and office skills; and Shika had done hers in engineering science.

Rai was sitting at her desk, staring at the open letter in front of her, when Shika knocked on the door to her bedroom. "Rai?"

The twenty-year-old turned in her chair. "Oh, hey Shika. Come in."

"I don't have time," Shika said. "I'm about to go to the dog park with Ruby. All I wanted to say was I'm meeting Alex for dinner tonight, so I won't be-."

She caught sight of the letter that Rai was trying to hide. "What's that?" she asked.

Rai slipped the letter under a pile of papers on her desk. "Nothing."

"Rai, you never keep things from me. What is it?"

Rai looked into her younger twin's face and sighed. "It's a letter."

Shika looked slightly worried. "Saying what?"

"I've been offered a job working at OWCA," said Rai quietly. "I'm going to join OWCA as Major Monogram's secretary."

Shika stared at her in shock. "But…I thought you were offered a job from the same company I'm going to work for in England?"

"I was," Rai said. "It's just that…I only applied there because Major Monogram told me there was a slightly better candidate for the secretary job than me, so I applied to BMW Mini like you, but you knew that if I was offered the secretary job at OWCA I would."

"But BMW Mini is a great job opportunity!" protested Shika. "They recognised that even though you didn't do engineering at college like I did, you could still work as an engineer working on the machines."

"Exactly," said Rai. "I didn't do engineering at college. You know why? Because it's not my primary interest. I did secretarial, administration, and office skills because that's my passion. My secondary interest was engineering, and that's why I would have been happy to do the job in England, but now that I can pursue my passion, I don't have to. Do you see?"

Shika sniffed, and Rai was shocked to see tears falling down her face. "But I can't go to England without you," she said quietly.

"You'll be going with Alex," Rai pointed out. "So you won't be alone."

"Yeah, but we've always done everything together," Shika argued. "Everything, ever since we were five years old. We went to three tiers of schools together, from kindergarten to middle school to high school. Heck, I even turned down a place from Danville U so I could go to the same college as you."

"I know," Rai said. "I'm not doing it to spite you, I'm doing this because I feel like it's the best thing for me. Being a secretary is all I've ever wanted, and since we took part in that maze thing when we were thirteen, I know that OWCA is the best place for me. I can do my dream job and help the agents who keep people safe at the same time. It's win-win for me."

"But not for me." Shika blinked against the tears. "I wish I could stay."

"Don't stay," advised Rai. "Being an engineer is all _you've_ ever wanted, and the job at BMW Mini is going to be an amazing start to your career. Besides, you're going to spend even more time with Alex, since he's going to be working the same hours as you."

"I-I guess…" Shika didn't look convinced.

"Do you love him?"

"What?"

"Do you love Alex?"

"I-." Shika took a breath in. "Yes…of course."

"Then you'll be fine," Rai said. "You may not be with me, but you'll be with someone you love, and that's great."

Shika nodded tearfully. "I just wish nothing could change. I wish we could go back to that summer when we were ten, and it seemed like it would stay just the two of us in that one summer forever."

"I know," said Rai sympathetically. "But everyone has to grow up. Don't think of this as the end; think of it as the beginning of a new life. A new life in England with a new job, the man you love, and the start the rest of your life."

"You're right." Shika wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm just being selfish."

"You're not," Rai reassured her. "I would be doing and saying exactly the same as you if I was in your position."

Shika was silent.

"Hey, it's not as if you're going right this second," Rai said in an attempt to cheer up her twin sister. "Both of our jobs are only starting in the new year, so we still have four months plus Christmas together."

Shika nodded bravely. "You're right," she said again.

"Now how about we start now? I'll come with you and Ruby to the dog park. How's that?"

Shika smiled. "Great. It's great, thank you."

"And don't think about how it's the end of an era," said Rai as she stood up.

Shika glared at her sister. "Thanks."

"I'm kidding."

Bickering good-humorously, the twin sisters left Rai's bedroom and collected their dog, both of them thinking about how they would miss the other when next year came.

"So where's Ruby going to go?" asked Rai.

"She's coming with us to England."

"Oh no she isn't. You can get an English terrier or something; you're not messing up Ruby's poor little Border Collie brain with English stuff."

"Fair enough."

…

 ***cries* *stops crying* I love Rai and Shika.**


	6. Too Big A Step?

**Summary:** Carl takes a major step up

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** chapter 18 of Hermes's Struggle

preferrably but can be read as standalone

...

 **Carl's POV**

I've never been more nervous in my life.

Standing by the side of the stage, hidden by a curtain, while Major Monogram talks in front of the whole of OWCA, I take deep breaths in and out to calm myself down.

I've been waiting for this moment to come for so many years but now that it's here, I wish it wasn't. I'm not ready to take over from Major Monogram. He's the leader, not me.

"Hey Carl," says a familiar voice behind me.

I turn and see my two closest friends standing by the hall door. "Guys, I can't do this."

Artemis comes forward and hugs me. Apollo puts his hand on my shoulder and massages it gently. Their combined efforts make me feel more relaxed.

"It's okay to feel nervous," says Artemis. "This is a big step up for you."

"I know. Maybe it's too big." I'm speaking my biggest fear aloud for the first time. "I mean, fifteen years ago, I was an unpaid intern, and now I'm taking the highest job in this division, both in pay and in status. What if it's too big a step?"

"It's not," Apollo reassures me. "Honestly, I know you can do this. You've been handling practically all the day-to-day running of OWCA for the last ten years. We're just making it official."

"But now I won't have a senior officer to report to and ask for help from when things go wrong," I say worriedly. "I'll have to be strong all the time and I can't do that. Have you seen how many stress breakdowns I've had in the last two years alone?"

"Everyone has, thanks to that You've Been Framed spoof we did last year."

Apollo's comment makes the three of us laugh quietly.

"Nobody expects you to be strong all the time," Artemis assures me. "Honestly, do you know how many times Major Monogram has come to me in counselling and just let off a torrent of steam about his problems and fears?"

"Or how many times I've found him in his office having an anxiety attack?" Apollo adds. "Or how many prescriptions for stress pills I've written him?"

"Is that healthy?" I ask.

"Don't worry, it was only twice." Apollo pauses. "A month. For ten years."

That makes me laugh again.

"No matter how hard the job is, you'll always have me and Apollo," Artemis says, putting her arm around me. Apollo does the same on my other side. "The counsellor and the doctor are always on your side."

Just then, Major Monogram calls my name. I give my best friends a weak smile and head out onto the stage. I see pretty much every agent of OWCA out there. In the front row, I see Agent P and his mate. Perry gives me an encouraging thumbs-up. I take a deep breath and stop in front of Major Monogram.

"Carl, you have been committed and dedicated to this organisation for three-quarters of your life. That is why I am proud to hand down the title of leader of this division to you. Do you accept the responsibilities that being the new leader will bring you?"

I swallow and, praying my voice won't give out, say, "I do."

Major Monogram gives me a smile. He takes off the OWCA logo badge off his uniform and pins it to my lapel. "Then I make you Commander Carl. I hope you will serve this organisation well for many years to come, Commander."

He salutes, and I copy him. The OWCA agents all burst into applause.

Tears of joy threatening to come into my eyes, I gently touch the badge on my shirt. It may seem like too big a step for me at first, but I'm sure with Apollo, Artemis, and the support of the agents of OWCA on my side, I will succeed.

I can do this.

I am Commander Carl, leader of OWCA.


	7. To Have Loved And Lost

**Summary:** a holiday in Monterey begins in happiness and ends in tragedy

 **Stories That Must Be Read Bedore Reading This One-Shot:** chapter 21 of Hermes's Struggle

...

 **Terry's POV**

"Agent T, you're finished already?" comes the surprised voice of my superior officer through the phone. "Well then...I guess you can stay there in Monterey until the mission is over. That's eight days from now, Agent T."

"Understood, sir."

I put down the phone and breathe deeply, taking in the salt air. I guess the first thing I want to do is to go back to my hotel and swim. After all, it's been a long mission.

So that's what I do.

I swim lengths. I can swim at high speeds (I am semi-aquatic, after all) but I like swimming slow breaststroke. It's relaxing.

I look up and see several dog children leap off the middle diving board. I turn over as they splash into the pool. I hear them daring each other to go on the high diving board but none of them do.

Then I look up and see a blue turtle on the high diving board. Squinting against the sun, I watch as she springs on the board, leaps off, and gracefully dives into the pool, barely making a splash. The dog kids are staring at her. Grinning, I swim over to her as she resurfaces.

"Hi, I just wanted to say that your dive was amazing. I've never seen anyone dive like that before."

"Oh, thank you!" says the turtle. Her accent is...Brazilian? "I am Lyndi."

"I'm Terry."

"You are Californian?"

"Oh, no, I'm from Danville. I'm here on vacation."

"Me too!" Lyndi beams at me. "I am leaving in eight days."

"Me too!" I gasp, unable to believe the coincidence. "So where are you from?"

"Oh, I am from Rio de Janeiro."

"Ah, Brazil. I'd love to go someday," I say honestly.

She smiles. "It is beautiful there. We swim and dive a lot."

"Wanna have a diving competition?" I ask playfully.

"Loser buys dinner tonight for both of us," grins Lyndi.

"You're on."

Needless to say, dinner is on me that night.

...

We spend a lot of time together over the next few days. In fact, apart from at night, I don't think there's a time we aren't together. We go to the beach and sunbathe, we swim and paddle in the sea, we eat all our meals together, and we go for walks in the beautiful and hot town of Monterey.

Two nights before I'm due to go back, she invites me to her hotel room. We sit and watch TV for a while, making fun of the ridiculous accents in some of the shows. Then she asks if I want to stay over.

We end up sleeping in the same bed.

The next morning, Lyndi feels unwell. This is unusual of turtles, so I volunteer to take her to an OWCA-run (though I don't tell her that) clinic, run by a friend of mine called Poppy Hall.

When we get there, Poppy sees us straight away. While she examines Lyndi, I hold my girlfriend's hand.

"Have you experienced anything like this before?" Poppy asks.

Lyndi shakes her head. "I have not," she replies.

"Well then, I can tell you that you are pregnant."

I gasp. Lyndi gasps and tightens her grip on my hand. Poppy picks up on the tension.

"Is there anything you want me to do to stop the pregnancy?" she asks gently .

I look at Lyndi, whose face suddenly breaks out into a smile. "No," she says. "Thank you. I was just feeling shocked and surprised. It is a good thing, really."

I phone Major Monogram later that day.

"How much vacation time do I have stored?" I ask.

There's a pause as he checks. "Roughly a month."

"If it's okay with you, sir, I'd like to spend that month here. Now."

"Yes, that's fine," says Monogram. "I'll just log that in and inform your pilot, and you'll be good to go. Any particular reason you want to spend another month in Monterey?"

I feel myself blushing and I'm glad that my superior can't see me. "No, sir."

...

"Terry, the egg is hatching!" Lyndi yells.

I rush out of my hotel room bathroom and into the main room. Lyndi is sitting on the double bed with the small grey egg in her hands. The egg is shaking and cracking.

I sit down on the bed next to Lyndi. "This is it!"

Just seconds later, Lyndi is holding a tiny baby turtle that has exactly the same fur colour as her.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" I whisper, utterly awed.

"It is a girl, I believe," Lyndi beams, a couple of tears of joy rolling down her cheeks. "She is beautiful. What do we name her?"

"How about Lydia?"

"Lydia?"

"She looks just like you, and the name Lydia is close to Lyndi. Plus, it's a beautiful name and it suits her."

"It really does," smiles Lyndi. "Lydia."

She passes our new daughter to me. As I cradle her in my arms, the baby slowly opens her eyes and focuses them on me. "Hello!" I whisper happily. "Hello, Lydia. I'm your father."

Lydia tilts her head back and looks upside-down at Lyndi. She gives a questioning babbling sound. "That's your mother," I chuckle, gently passing Lydia back to Lyndi.

"I never thought I would be a mother this early," says Lyndi, smiling. "But I am glad I have a child with you, Terry. I love you."

"Love you too," I smile.

...

We care for and play with Lydia mostly in the hotel, though we often go to the beach.

When Lydia is two weeks old, we go for a walk along the road. Lyndi is carrying Lydia with one arm and holding hands with me with the other. I decide to wait until we get to the restaurant that we're having lunch in before I propose. I love Lyndi so much and I'm planning to ask her to be my mate.

As we walk, I see two men dressed in black suits coming towards us. I want to cross the road to be safe, but before I can, one of them lunges and snatches baby Lydia from Lyndi.

"Hey!" yelps Lyndi. "Lydia!"

"Give her back!" I yell.

As both of us charge at the man who has Lydia, the other man swings his hand and knocks me aside. At the same time, he kicks out with his foot and kicks Lyndi square in the chest, sending her stumbling backwards into the road. Before I can move, I hear a horrible scream and it's all over.

"Lyndi!" I scream.

The men are escaping with my sobbing little girl. My heart absolutely breaks but I leave Lydia and rush out into the road and retrieve Lyndi's limp body. I drag her to the other side of the road and examine her hurriedly.

She's dead.

I look up at the sky in despair and catch sight of the men getting into a black car and leaving.

I clutch Lyndi's body in grief and begin to sob. Not only have I lost the person I love most in the world, I have lost my newborn daughter too. I have nobody anymore.

Five minutes ago, I had a family.

Now, I have nothing.


	8. Romance In Training

**Summary:** Sora's first training session with Jolyon and Xanthe.

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** Hazel's Mission and chapters 2-4 of Priya's Pain, or you won't know who these characters are.

…

Sora entered the training hall to see a black-furred platypus and a yellow-furred platypus already there, along with the agents assigned to train them: Peter and Patty, the latter of whom had a whistle around her neck. As Sora went over to the four, Patty was the first to spot her.

"Ah, you must be Sora, correct?"

Sora nodded.

"This is Jolyon…" Patty indicated the black-furred platypus. "…and Xanthe." The yellow platypus. "Jolyon and Xanthe, this is Perry the Platypus's younger sister, Sora."

"Hi," said Sora, smiling at the platypuses.

Jolyon gave her a smile back and Xanthe waved. They both seemed as nervous as Sora herself was, which was rather comforting to Sora.

"Now, Patty and I need to sort out our first exercise," said Peter. "While we're doing that, I want you three to chat amongst yourselves and get to know each other better."

Peter and Patty walked to the other side of the gym and began sorting something out.

Sora watched them for a moment, before she heard a calm voice from behind her say, "So you're Hazel's father's sister?"

"Hazel…yes!" Sora was embarrassed that she had taken so long to remember who Hazel was. "Yes, I'm Perry's sister."

"Isn't Perry over twenty years old?" Xanthe said, frowning. "You don't look that old."

Sora felt herself grin like an idiot as Xanthe blushed. "Okay, that came out wrong."

"No, that's okay." Sora suppressed a laugh. "Well, my mom was nine years old when Perry was born. She was nineteen when I was born."

"Wow, so you're ten years younger than Perry?" asked Jolyon.

Sora nodded. "That's right."

Sora and Jolyon gazed at each other for a moment. Xanthe, grinning, broke it by saying, "I'm guessing you're single, like Jolyon?"

Jolyon flushed and nudged Xanthe. Sora put her hand over her mouth to stifle a half-embarrassed giggle.

"I thought you two were together," Sora stated.

Jolyon and Xanthe shot each other looks that were half amused, half disgusted. "We're more like brother and sister," Xanthe said.

"That explains the reaction, then," laughed Sora.

At that moment, Patty came back over. "Alright, everyone. For our first training exercise, we're going to try teaching you a few very basic moves. A lot of the complex moves that you will see being used by OWCA agents are actually just very basic moves but upgraded, for want of a better word."

Peter dragged three dummies into a line with a few metres' space between them. Each dummy had a stand and a pole, which placed the dummy at about chest height. They were made of white material and in the shape of a human torso without arms. Each one was connected to the pole by a spring, meaning it could move from side to side and front to back.

"These dummies will be your victims," Patty grinned. "First of all, we just want to see what you can do. We will give you five minutes to attack the dummy."

Sora went to the dummy on the left. She gently pushed it, watching it wobble backwards and forwards. When she heard Patty blow the whistle, she punched the dummy in the face. This was rather satisfying so she did it again. Unfortunately, this made the dummy fly back forwards with more force and hit Sora in the face. Despite this, she grinned and pretended she was fighting a real opponent.

 _Ah, so you think you can get the drop on me?_

Sora kicked the dummy in the torso and ducked when it rebounded.

 _Ha ha! I have outsmarted you!_

All of a sudden, rage overwhelmed Sora. She remembered the people that had held her parents captive and had killed her father. Pretending that this dummy was one of those people, Sora viciously hit the dummy over and over again, not even caring that her knuckles were beginning to bruise.

Then she felt someone catch her wrist. Sora turned to see Jolyon, a sympathetic expression on his face, holding onto her wrist. She glanced round him and saw Peter and Patty holding the dummy still for Xanthe while the yellow platypus tried and failed to hit it. None of them had noticed Sora's rage.

As Jolyon let go of her wrist, Sora calmed down and let her arms fall to her sides. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"I know what it means to be angry with someone," Jolyon said, equally as quiet.

"It's not just that."

"I know," said Jolyon, and Sora realised that he really did know.

At that moment, Patty came over. "Is everything okay here?"

Sora opened her beak to give a lie like "we were just comparing strategies" but Jolyon got there first and simply said, "Yes."

Patty looked confused but she said, "If you're sure."

She clapped her paws and stood back, addressing all of us. "Okay, now we're going to teach you some basic moves."

Two and a half hours later, Sora was sweaty but very pleased with herself. She had mastered three of the four basic moves that Peter and Patty had taught her, including a spinning kick, which Peter had said was quite a hard move to master. When asked how she had grasped it so quickly, Sora had grinned, shrugged, and said, "It's in my blood."

She had left the training session five minutes early so she could get in the shower first. As she dried herself off, Xanthe came up to her in the girls' changing rooms. The yellow platypus was grinning from ear to ear. Sora couldn't help smiling herself as she looked at her friend's smug face.

"Okay, I'll ask: why are you looking so happy?"

"Jolyon has a crush on you," grinned Xanthe.

Sora raised her eyebrows as she put the borrowed towel away. "And how do you know that?"

"He told me," Xanthe proclaimed proudly.

"And did he ask you not to tell me?" Sora grinned.

"Maybe," said Xanthe, drawing out the "ay" sound rather long.

Sora chuckled and headed towards the door. Xanthe blocked her. "Seriously, he really likes you. I've never seen him so embarrassed when I said he was single."

"You say that to all the women Jolyon meets?" Sora teased.

"No, seriously. Trust me, it takes a lot for Jolyon to get embarrassed. Do you like him back?"

"I-." Sora hesitated, feeling a blush creep onto her face. "I guess I do. I don't really know him."

"So you don't really know him and you think you like him?"

"Uh, I guess."

"So if he asks you out on a date will you say yes?"

"Why are you pressing me on this?"

"Because Jolyon really is like my older brother and he deserves a shot with someone he really likes, which is you."

Sora chuckled again. "Then I suppose I could take the opportunity to get to know him a little better."

Xanthe actually squealed. "Great! Hey, can I come as Jolyon's plus one?"

"No," grinned Sora, opening the door.

Xanthe followed her out of the changing rooms and across the gym towards the main doors. "Can I eavesdrop?"

"No."

"How about picking the venue?"

"Xanthe, he hasn't even asked me out yet."

As Sora left the gym, she immediately spotted Jolyon, who was standing by the wall opposite the door, looking rather awkward. She stopped in the doorway. Xanthe "accidentally" pushed Sora closer to Jolyon and disappeared out of sight.

"That was a really interesting session," Jolyon said quietly.

"Yeah, it was." Sora was also feeling awkward. "Hey, thanks for stopping me with the punching thing. That could have turned out nasty."

"It's no problem. Are your knuckles okay?"

Sora looked down at her hands, which looked rather red. "They'll be fine."

"Okay…" Jolyon appeared to be wrestling with the words. "Um…are you doing anything now?"

"Well, I was going to see my brother and tell him about my first training session, but…" Sora decided to help him out a bit. After all, the poor platypus was clearly nervous. "…I'm free for dinner."

"Oh!" Jolyon stood a little straighter. "Oh, that's-that's what I was thinking. So…we could go to Casa Blanca? It's a great restaurant where your niece Quinn works."

"Does it have anything to do with Morocco?"

Jolyon chuckled. "Oddly enough, no." He paused. "Interested?" he asked hesitantly.

Sora let a warm smile flow onto her face. "Jolyon, I would love to go to dinner with you. Is it a date?"

Jolyon bit his lip anxiously. "Do-do you _want_ it to be a date?"

Sora's smile changed to mischievous. "That wouldn't be so bad."

"Then yes. It's a date."

"Alright, so how about you come by my house at six and we can walk down there together?"

Jolyon nodded. "Yes, that sounds doable."

"Great, see you there."

Sora headed down the corridor to see her brother and Jolyon walked in the opposite direction to catch up with Xanthe. As they walked, both of them fist-pumped the air.

…

 **AWWWW! *squeals* So in Hermes's Struggle, I showed that Sora and Jolyon were mates, but with no context as to how they even met, let alone fell in love. Does this satisfy you? Because this might be one of my favourite things I've ever written ^_^**


	9. Bitter Regrets

**Summary:** Piper visits an old friend

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** Teddy's Adulthood (crucial), this O-S gives major spoilers for that story.

…

 **Piper's POV**

I haven't been in a while. I know I should have but I've just been so busy. What with newborn Paige and moving into our own house, I just haven't had time.

But now I'm here.

There's snow on the ground, and I'm wearing a scarf that does very little to block out the cold. It's February. The anniversary of her death.

Fresh tears come to my eyes as I look at the bronze cat with Mayfair's likeness. "I'm so sorry," I whisper. "I never _ever_ wanted you to find out about Teddy and I the way you did. I-I wasn't nice to you. I can't apologise for loving Teddy but I can for the way I acted about it. I knew how you felt about Teddy and I was still really horrible about it. Heck, I _fought_ you. I called you selfish and hit you in the face. I know you said some things but I've already forgotten them. That's how little they mattered. I loved you, Mayfair. You were an amazing person and an amazing friend."

My voice grows hoarse as I fight to control the tears. Even two years after it happened, it still affects me. "I was horrible to you!" I wail. "And the worst part is I never told you any of this while you were still alive! You died still thinking I hated you when you never did anything wrong, all you did was love Teddy and that's not a crime, it's not-."

I end up babbling. I take a breath to control myself and say, more quietly, "It's tearing me apart, May. Even two years on. You sacrificed yourself to save your brother and we never even got to speak since I left you in that cell."

I sniff. "Parker. You'd be so proud of him if you could see him, May. His training is going so well. He's going to be a great OWCA agent one day." I pause. "Poor Parker. He still hasn't gotten over your loss. He feels responsible, like he could have prevented it. Everyone tells him he couldn't have but he's pushing himself. I've seen it with Luke, he's trying too hard to be the best, to prevent it from happening again."

I wipe the fresh tears out of my eyes, to no avail. "It's me…" I sob. "I-I'm the one responsible. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so unnecessarily cruel to you when you found out about us, you wouldn't have reacted the way you did, and you'd still be with us."

I finally put the roses I'm carrying beside Mayfair's statue. My knees buckle and I collapse across Mayfair's statue, crying my eyes out.

I'm sure at some point Teddy comes to find me and sees me crying at Mayfair's memorial. But to my relief, he doesn't interrupt me nor mention it when I get home that night. I know that he has seen me because he's looking at me with sympathy every time I look at him.

I wish I hadn't said the things I did. I wish I hadn't hit Mayfair.

But it's too late now.

It will always be too late.

And these regrets will follow me to my grave.

…

 ***is unable to say anything through crying***


	10. After Life

**Summary:** I won't include a summary for this one, because _spoilers_

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** New Life and Teddy's Adulthood (absolutely crucial)

…

The pain had been excruciating at first. As the claws ripped through her body, it had felt like fire. Then dying in her brother's arms. Making peace before she died.

Only she had never been able to make peace with the boy she loved. Or his mate. And that would stay with her forever.

Mayfair really did forgive Piper. The platypus hadn't really done anything wrong. Sure, her manner when Mayfair had found out about Teddy and Piper had been appalling. But Mayfair herself hadn't been much better.

The pain was gone. She sat up woozily and found herself in the middle of a field. There was green grass as far as the eye could see in all directions. Mayfair stood up shakily and checked herself for the wound that Jodie had given her. It was still there, but she felt no pain.

She was dead.

Mayfair began walking, feeling the plush grass on her feet. Then she began to run. She bounded on all fours, feeling wind on her face, never getting tired. She felt like she had enough energy to run forever.

Then she bumped into two platypuses who were standing together, holding hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, skidding to a halt.

"No problem," smiled the female. "I'm India."

"I'm Ohio," said the male.

"Mayfair," said Mayfair. "Wait…you're Teddy's dad's friends. The ones who died saving Danville!"

Ohio and India nodded at the same time. "That's right," said Ohio. "We've really been dead for millennia on our Earth, but on yours I suppose it's only been about eight?"

"About eight," agreed Mayfair. "You were so selfless…"

"So were you, as we heard it," said India, gesturing to the wound on Mayfair's chest. "You saved your brother."

Mayfair looked away, ashamed. "After doing all those terrible things," she said quietly. "I betrayed my friends and my family and my agency…all because of the stupid love I had for some boy."

"That boy being Perry's son, Teddy," Ohio stated.

Mayfair nodded miserably. "Just because Teddy broke my heart, I betrayed everything I've ever known and almost got Hazel and a whole lot of other people killed."

"Hey." India put her fingers under Mayfair's chin and gently lifted the cat's head so that Mayfair was looking into India's eyes. "Sure you did a bad thing. But here, it's not what you did in life that counts, it's how you died. And you died saving your brother, just after you refused to kill Teddy's sister Hazel. That means something down here."

Mayfair nodded and pulled away. "Where _is_ here?"

"It's not quite heaven and it's not quite hell," India replied. "It's almost like limbo. But you can make anything you want here."

"Anything?" asked Mayfair, immediately feeling guilty for the thought that had instantly come to her mind after hearing that.

"Anything. You just have to wait half an hour after being dead. You know, to make sure you're dead." Ohio grinned. "Cuz I hear you can bring a person back to life even after half an hour of dying."

Mayfair shrugged. "I suppose so. But then why are you two here in an empty field?"

"Our job is to greet anyone who arrives here," India replied. "Like you. Other people come to the field because they want to.

Just then, a red blur flew over Mayfair's head. "Heads up!"

"Like her," grinned Ohio.

The bird—which looked like a macaw—landed on the ground next to Mayfair. "You must be a new arrival."

Mayfair could not stop staring. "You're her…!"

"What?"

"Maggie the Macaw!" whispered Mayfair, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "Oh my God…m-my parents…they told me stories about you!"

"Your parents…?" Maggie seemed confused for a moment before her beak fell open. "Purple cat…I can't believe I didn't see it before! You must be Harry and Karen's daughter!"

Tears filled Mayfair's eyes as she nodded. "I can't believe I'm meeting you. Mom and Dad miss you a lot. So does Perry."

"Ah, Perry." Maggie smiled wistfully. "I've missed my team." Her face grew serious. "Heinz…what happened to Heinz after I died?"

"Monogram fired him." Mayfair recalled the story her parents had told her. "He was so anguished by your death. When he saw that he'd hit you, he fell off the roof and made no move to save himself. He thought he was going to join you in death."

Maggie sighed. "I do forgive Heinz. Sometimes people do stupid and crazy things…it was just terrible luck that this stupid and crazy thing ended in my death."

"What's everyone talking about?" asked a teal-coloured platypus, coming up to the group.

"Perry…?" whispered Mayfair, utterly confused.

But then she took a harder look at the teal platypus and saw that he looked older than Perry.

 _No way!_

"This is Perry's father, Patrick," said Ohio, smiling. "He's been here longer than any of us."

"How's my family?" asked Patrick.

"Perry has a mate called Priya," Mayfair told him. "They have three kids together: Teddy, Hazel, and Quinn."

Patrick smiled. "I wish I could have lived to see that. And Pearl?"

"I haven't seen much of her but as far as I know she's okay," Mayfair replied. "She lives with Perry and Priya."

"That's good to hear."

Maggie and Patrick strolled off together to chat. Mayfair looked at Ohio and India. "Didn't you have a child in your dimension thing?"

"You mean Lily?" India nodded. "Yeah. We also had a boy who we called Teal to remind ourselves of Perry."

"Where are they?" asked Mayfair.

"They're living in their own worlds," Ohio replied. "We still see them, but…well…it's been a long time for them."

Mayfair nodded. "I guess it has."

She suddenly felt a slight electric shock, like something had zapped her. She shuddered.

"That'll be your ability to project anything you want," grinned India. "It feels like that. Try projecting anything."

Mayfair thought for a moment.

Then her mother, her father, and her brother appeared in front of her. She hugged them tightly and made them appear inside a large house that she conjured up out of thin air. They waved at her from outside the window.

Then four more figures appeared. Lennie the Chameleon, Nick the Egret, Piper the Platypus…

Teddy the Platypus.

Wiping away tears from her eyes, Mayfair choked out, "All I want is to spend the rest of my existence here with my family and my friends."

Ohio and India smiled like proud parents. "We thought you might."

Taking hands with Teddy and Piper, Mayfair walked towards her literal happily ever after.

…

 ***cries* *stops crying* original idea though, amirite? Please tell me I'm right XD**


	11. Home

**Summary:** Diana comes home

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** gives some spoilers for Priya's Pain and Hermes's Struggle

…

"I'm home!" Diana Fay called as she entered the house.

"Mommy!" yelled a voice immediately.

Diana counted four seconds before her five-year-old son came running down the stairs and leapt into her arms. "Mommy!"

"Hello sweetie," Diana beamed, hugging her son. "How was kindergarten today?"

"I drew a picture!" proclaimed Ethan. "It's on the fridge!" He struggled out of Diana's arms and raced into the kitchen.

"Where's my second favourite guy?" Diana teased, heading into the living room.

Leo Tyler was sitting on the sofa, reading some kind of science journal. When he spotted Diana, he smiled and stood up. Diana and Leo moved closer and kissed briefly. "Second favourite?" Leo repeated, pretending to be offended. "Who's your favourite?"

"Me!" Ethan's voice hollered from the kitchen. "I'm her fav-rit!"

Diana laughed as Ethan came running back into the room, clutching a big piece of pink paper. She ruffled his brown hair. "What did you draw today, Ethan?"

Ethan proudly displayed the drawing he had done. Diana smiled as she looked over the three potato-like figures: one that said "Mommy", one that said "Daddy", and one that said "me". "That's adorable," she said. "Well done, Ethan."

"Can I have ice cream?" Ethan asked eagerly.

"After dinner," Diana replied. "Perhaps if you ask your father nicely enough, he'll make you some spaghetti."

"Pasta!" Ethan clapped his hands happily. "Let's go, Daddy!" He began pulling on Leo's hand, trying to drag him into the kitchen.

Diana's husband let out a chuckle. "How about you go watch some TV while we cook dinner for you?"

"Okay!" Ethan switched the TV on, hopped onto the sofa, and grabbed the remote.

Laughing, Diana and Leo entered the kitchen and began preparing the meal. "How's your home universe?" Leo asked.

Diana grimaced. "Not good, really. Monsters are everywhere. I only just escaped with my life."

"But you got to revisit Camp Half-Blood, right?"

Diana nodded. "Oh, yes. It was nice to see Chiron again after all these years, but Mr D was as unsociable as usual."

"Did you visit anywhere else?" Leo inquired, switching the microwave on.

"I popped in to visit Perry on my way back," Diana replied. "Did you know they found his son?"

"Hermes?" Leo gasped, whirling round to face Diana. "They found Hermes?"

Diana gave him an odd look. "Yes. Why?"

Leo bit his lip and looked away. "I…nothing."

Diana put down the packet of pasta and frowned at her husband. "Leo, we tell each other everything, don't we?"

"Yes, I know." Leo sighed. "Okay…you know how I worked for the government a while ago?"

Diana nodded.

"Well…my superior was Bill Hawkes, the guy who started Project Newborn, which was how Perry lost his son."

"You were part of it?" Diana gasped.

"No, no, no," replied Leo hurriedly. "No way. He assured me it was still in the storyboard phase but it turned out he was implementing it behind my back. I saw my friend—former friend, I should say—when he had just stolen Hermes from Perry's mate. I tried to fight him but he overpowered me and knocked me out. I helped Perry find his mate afterwards but…I always felt so guilty because it felt like it was all my fault."

Diana folded her arms. "In what way?"

"Well, I worked very closely with Bill and Dimitri, for one thing. I should have noticed that they were implementing Project Newborn. For another, I could have stopped Dimitri from taking off with Hermes. To this day, I still can't believe I was overpowered by him. At the time, I was almost half his age and double his fitness. Not only is it embarrassing that he was able to knock me out, but it just makes me feel even worse because I was perfectly capable of stopping him from taking the baby but I failed, and I thought I was going to have to live with that knowledge forever." He ended up almost crying. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked up at his wife, who was gazing at him sympathetically. "But they've found him?"

Diana nodded. "They did. Just under a week ago."

Leo smiled as tears began running down his face. "I-I can't believe it. I'm glad for them."

Diana walked slowly over to her husband and hugged him. "You don't have to blame yourself anymore. Hermes is safe at home now."

The couple's intimate moment was interrupted by a shriek of, "JINGLE BELLS!"

"Is he watching a Christmas show?" Leo asked as he and Diana broke apart.

"No idea," grinned Diana. "But as it's only a couple of weeks away, I'm sure it's fine."

Leo gazed at her, a completely happy look on his face. Diana turned and caught sight of it. "What?"

"Do you remember when we met?"

"Yeah. I turned invisible, you accidentally hit into me, and I irrationally blew up at you."

Leo chuckled. "Yeah." His face turned slightly scared. "That was actually quite scary."

Diana linked hands with her husband and smiled. "Just don't get in the way of my anger again."

Leo knitted his eyebrows together as he stared at his wife. "Anyway, we'd better get Ethan away from the Christmas shows. We're having a Christmas movie later."

"Oh yes!" Leo clicked his fingers, remembering. "You said I could choose."

"I did say that."

"I'm choosing _The Polar Express_. Have you seen it?"

Diana shook her head.

"It is truly brilliant," Leo said, grinning. "You'll like it." As he walked into the living room, he began singing: _"It's a magic carpet on a rail, never takes a rest. Flying through the mountains and the snow. Ride for free and join the fun, if you just say yes. 'Cuz that's the way things happen on the Polar Express."_

"You nerd," laughed Diana.

"Better a nerd than boring, right?"

"You have no idea."

…

 **AWW! Cute family, amirite? Diana, Leo, and little Ethan :D**

 **Also: I do not own The Polar Express, neither the movie nor the song.**


	12. What Doesn't Kill You

**Summary:** introduction to a new OC

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** none

 **Author's Note: bullying is a very prominent theme in this O-S. If you will feel affected by reading about bullying in this O-S, please don't read.**

…

Mavis Monogram was alone in the SAB's gym. It was about midnight, which explained why Mavis was alone. She set up the punching bag in the middle of the gym and hit it with almost no force at all, just to warm up. After a couple of minutes of doing this, she upped the force.

For the first time in years, the memories of her high school years came back to her, along with the pain.

 _"_ _You're seriously Monty Monogram's sister?" scoffed Philippa Hardy. "How can a cool guy like him have such a loser for a sister?"_

 _Mavis shied away from the bigger girl. "I'm not a loser."_

 _Delighted to get a reaction, Philippa pressed, "Yes you are. Look at you. You have spots, you're fat, and your hair is horrible. You'll never look as beautiful as me." She preened._

 _"_ _Oh, don't worry. That's not much of a let-down."_

 _Philippa glared and Mavis immediately knew she shouldn't have said that. The older girl s Mavis into the wall and grabbed her bag. She began taking out b_

 _"_ _Don't!" cried Mavis._

 _"_ _What is this?" Philippa scoffed, inspecting a science textbook. "How many textbooks did you bring?"_

 _"_ _Four or five," Mavis replied defensively._

 _"_ _Huh. You must need serious help with your work, then."_

 _"_ _I just want to do well in school," Mavis said, tears springing into her eyes. "Please, just give it back."_

 _She lunged for the science textbook but Philippa held it above her reach. "Dumb as well as ugly," she leered._

Mavis slammed her fist into the punching bag, pretending it was Philippa's face.

 _Mavis tried to ignore it but she felt it like a punch to the stomach. She leapt again for the book but Philippa elbowed her in the chest. Mavis fell back, clutching her chest in pain. She looked up at the taller girl, tears blurring her vision. "Why are you doing this?"_

 _"_ _Because you're a loser," replied Philippa smugly. "And nobody likes a loser."_

 _"_ _I'm not a loser!" Mavis cried. "Please, just give my stuff back!"_

 _"_ _I feel very sorry for Monty," Philippa said, shaking her head in mock-pity. "Poor guy must be ashamed to have a sister like you."_

 _Mavis bent her head, trying and failing to not let the tears fall down her cheeks._

 _"_ _Aww, you're going to cry!" Philippa said triumphantly. "You really are a loser!"_

The punching bag's stand swung as Mavis attacked it with all her force, placing all the anger she could into her moves. It was her only outlet.

 _Footsteps sounded. Philippa's voice said, "Ah, girls. This is the loser I was telling you about."_

 _Another girly voice sounded, one that Mavis recognised as Mandy Jackson: "THIS is Monty Monogram's sister?"_

 _"_ _Eww," said the voice of Rachel Hunter. "I see what you mean, Phil. She totally IS a loser. Imagine crying at school like that!"_

 _Mavis tried not to let it get to her but she couldn't help it. She began crying freely as she felt someone kick her knee. "She's ACTUALLY crying!" crowed Rachel's voice._

 _"_ _Of course she is," laughed Mandy. "I feel sorry for Monty, really."_

 _"_ _Me too," Philippa said, sounding concerned, though Mavis knew it was an act. "I'd feel sorry for anybody who had this loser as a sister, but especially since Monty is so cool and she's clearly not."_

 _Mavis suddenly stood up and got angrily in Philippa's face. "Shut up!" she yelled. "Shut up! YOU are the loser! Only a horrible person would make someone else feel the way you're making me feel!"_

Mavis attempted to destroy the punching bag with both her moves and her glare. Neither worked.

 _Mandy and Rachel acted before Philippa could. Mandy punched Mavis in the eye while Rachel viciously kicked her in the shin. Mavis gasped in pain and fell back against the wall. Philippa then hit Mavis with considerable force on the arm, deadening it. Mavis shrank against the wall, expecting more attacks, but then the bell rang, signifying the end of break time._

 _"_ _Saved by the bell," snarled Philippa. She grabbed Mavis's shirt collar and lifted her off the ground. Their faces were a few inches away. "Don't think you've gotten away with what you said to me. I'm going to make sure you regret it later."_

 _With that, she dropped Mavis on the ground, and all three girls flounced off._

In the present, Mavis kicked the punching bag one more time and sent it flying into the corner. Breathing heavily, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and swung her fist round angrily. She was extremely annoyed that these memories were still troubling her after five years.

As she retrieved the punching bag and began hitting it again, another memory came into her head.

 _Attempting to hide her new bruises with a scarf, Mavis walked out of school at the end of the day and saw the three bullies standing by the school gate, waiting for her. She almost felt like crying but she kept it together and had just begun to descend the school steps when a handsome boy with windswept blonde hair appeared in front of her. Her heart leapt into her mouth; it was Charlie Alexander, her crush. She paused and smiled widely at him, hoping to hide her awkwardness; Charlie was her crush._

 _"_ _Hey, I just wanted to ask you if you were okay," Charlie said. "You looked like you were in pain."_

 _Mavis hesitated, remembering Philippa's threat if Mavis ever told anyone about the bullying. "It's fine. I'm fine."_

 _Charlie frowned. "Forgive me for being so forwards, but…"_

 _He moved her scarf out of the way and saw the black and blue bruise on her neck. Mavis flinched. "How did you get that?"_

 _"_ _I-I fell over."_

 _But Charlie must have seen Mavis's eyes darting over to the school gate because he turned round and saw the three girls waiting there._

 _"_ _Are you being bullied?"_

 _Mavis shook her head quickly but even she could tell that the expression on her face was telling a different story._

 _"_ _You have to report it," Charlie said._

 _"_ _No," Mavis said immediately. "I don't want to make a fuss."_

 _"_ _Are you being threatened to keep quiet about it?"_

 _Mavis hesitated and pursed her lips. "No," she replied weakly._

 _"_ _I'll come with you," Charlie offered._

 _"_ _No, it's fine," Mavis said again. "I don't want to make a fuss."_

 _"_ _They're physically hurting you!" Charlie snapped. "That's not okay!"_

 _Mavis suddenly backed away in fear. Charlie turned back to the gate to find the three girls coming into the school yard. Apparently they were tired of waiting for Mavis._

 _Charlie stormed down the stairs and met the three girls. "Hey," he snapped. "Are you the ones giving Mavis a hard time?"_

 _Mandy and Rachel looked to Philippa, who tossed her hair back, unabashed. "So what if we are? What's it to you?"_

 _"_ _She's my girlfriend," snarled Charlie. "That's what it is to me. I don't like you physically abusing my girlfriend, so you'll stay away from her unless you want me to put my black belt in karate to good use."_

 _Mandy and Rachel nudged each other and quickly left. Philippa met Charlie's angry glare but ultimately she backed down and left in fear._

 _Mavis descended the steps and looked shyly up at Charlie. "Why did you say I was your girlfriend?"_

 _Charlie's angry glare melted into a look of extreme embarrassment. "Oh my gosh, I didn't know you could hear that. I'm sorry, I should have-."_

 _"_ _No, it's fine," Mavis said, smiling timidly. "It's nice."_

 _Charlie smiled. "Then how about I make it official?"_

 _Mavis stared at him, her heart pounding._

 _"_ _Would you like to go on a date with me?"_

 _Mavis nodded quickly. "Yes, please!" She paused. "Did that sound too eager?"_

 _Charlie shook his head. "Not at all. Well, do you want me to walk you home, girlfriend?"_

 _Mavis beamed. "Yes please, boyfriend."_

Mavis forced herself to stop thinking about Charlie. It was too painful, remembering him.

Freshman year at high school had started out as a nightmare: bullying every day, to the point where she almost ran away from home. Then Charlie had asked her out. The bullying had stopped, and life had generally become much better. That summer, spent with Charlie, had been magical. She'd felt herself falling in love.

Then the phone call from Charlie's father. Saying…

Mavis had never forgotten anything about that phone call: not the words, not the grief-stricken tone of voice. Nothing.

 _"_ _Mavis…I'm calling from the hospital. Charlie was in an-an-an accident. He d-didn't…he didn't make it…I'm so sorry."_

Mavis wiped the tears out of her face with the back of her hand. Charlie had made her stronger. He'd made her see that she didn't have to take the bullying; she could do something about it. His love had made her stronger.

And now she would make sure his memory lived on in her.

…

 ***is crying* poor Charlie! Poor Mavis too! But has this been a good introduction to the character of Mavis?**


	13. A Happier Time

**Summary:** why Kane and Kirk became enemies

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** Everybody Hurts at least, preferably Stuck In The Middle too.

…

" _This_ is supposed to be our base?" Kane stared up at the dismal building in the middle of a forest clearing. "It's in the middle of nowhere, Kirk."

Kane's younger brother clapped his hands together. "That's exactly why it's great. Come on, I'll give you the tour."

As Kane and Kirk walked into the entrance hall, Kane wasn't impressed by the gloomy décor. "Gotta say, your decorating skills need a _lot_ of work."

Kirk swatted his brother on the shoulder good-naturedly. " _I_ didn't decorate this, idiot. This is how it came. I'm not _that_ emo."

"Saying you're not an emo is like saying a giraffe doesn't have a long neck."

This earned him an elbow to the ribs. Laughing, Kane grabbed Kirk in a friendly headlock and rubbed his brother's hair with his fist. "You love me really."

"Sure, sure." Kirk struggled. "Get off me!"

"Never gonna happen."

Eventually, Kirk resorted to tickling. Kane jerked backwards, letting go of his younger brother, and bashed his elbow painfully on the wall. Kirk delighted in watching his brother hop about. "Ooh, the funny bone!" Kane hissed.

"It really is funny," Kirk said amusedly.

"Okay, wise-guy." Kane gently punched his brother on the shoulder. "Show me your base."

" _Our_ base," Kirk corrected him immediately. "ARCHANGEL is _our_ vision, not just mine. I just bought the base. If it weren't for you, ARCHANGEL wouldn't even have passed the development phase. Now we're here, in our very own base!"

"It is exciting," commented Kane, smiling.

"Heck yes it is!" Kirk raised his hand for a high-five. Shaking his head amusedly, Kane slapped his hand. "But seriously, you're the reason ARCHANGEL exists."

"So are you," Kane said. "You were the one who came up with the idea and began implementing it."

They put their arms around each other. "I couldn't have done this without you," Kirk said. "Anyway, I'll give you the tour. I've got this _awesome_ lab space for us, so I can science and you can engineer."

"That's terrible grammar."

"Do I look like I care?"

Kirk showed Kane a small room. "What's this for?" Kane asked.

"I was about to explain." Kirk shot Kane an amused look. "I was thinking this could be an office for us."

"An office?" Kane repeated, looking around the space. "Hmm…well, we could have a bureau over there and two desks on either side of the room."

Kirk slapped Kane excitedly on the shoulder. " _Now_ you're getting it!"

After showing Kane the rest of the base, the older Kennedy brother was getting more excited too. "I can't wait to develop the HECK out of that lab," grinned Kane as they strolled back to the entrance hall.

"I can't wait to see you develop the heck out of that lab," Kirk grinned. "I mean, this place is amazing, right?" He poked his brother's arm. "Say it. This place is amazing."

"It is pretty cool," Kane admitted.

Kirk jabbed his index fingers into Kane's shoulder in rapid succession. "Told you so."

"Yeah, THAT'S mature," grinned Kane.

"It's almost like I'm the younger brother," Kirk deadpanned, making Kane laugh.

"You're such an idiot."

"I know." Kirk stopped walking and gazed happily up at the metal rafters. "Kane, ARCHANGEL is happening. And I can tell it's going to be great."

…

A month later, Kane stopped by their office, which was now furnished with lots of furniture. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked his brother, who was sat behind his desk, scribbling on a piece of paper.

Kirk sharply looked up. "We need operatives, Kane."

"What?"

"Agents," Kirk explained. "We can't be a fearsome organisation without agents of some kind."

"Nobody said we'd be a fearsome organisation," Kane said, frowning, as he came further in and sat down sideways on the desk, peering at his brother. "Are you okay?"

"I haven't slept in three days," Kirk replied, a wild look in his eyes. "We can use animals, right?"

"Animals? Kirk, what are you talking about?"

"The Organisation Without A Cool Acronym," Kirk said, sounding rather manic. "They use animal agents. We can beat them at their own game."

"Kirk, we don't want to beat anyone." Kane stared at his brother.

"Yes we do." Kirk seemed insane. His movements were erratic and his voice jerky. "The OWCA. We have to fight fire with fire. Use animal operatives. Beat OWCA."

"Kirk, what's going on? Why are you so obsessed with the OWCA?"

"I'm not obsessed," answered Kirk, rifling through papers on his desk. "I think we should get baby animals. Get pregnant females, have them give birth to the babies, take the babies here, and train them up straight away. We could even use the children of OWCA's own animal agents! That would really mess them up!"

"That's barbaric!" Kane gasped. "Kirk, you're not thinking clearly. I need you to-." Kane reached out and put his hand on Kirk's shoulder, but his brother lashed out and hit Kane on the chin, making him stagger back. He stared at Kirk with more shock than pain. "What the-?"

Kirk didn't seem sorry. He just gazed sadly at Kane for a moment before he ran back behind his desk and grabbed the piece of paper he had been writing on. Kane walked slowly forwards and took Kirk's arms. His brother didn't resist as Kane gently led him out the room. Neither of them spoke until they reached their bedroom. "I think you need a rest," said Kane.

"I don't need sleep, I need agents," Kirk snapped.

"Hey, just go to sleep," Kane said, helping his brother into bed. "Maybe something will come to you in sleep."

Kane tucked Kirk into bed, just as he had done when they were children, and began walking away. As he did, Kirk's voice called softly, "I'm sorry for hitting you."

"It's okay," Kane replied without looking back. "I know what lack of sleep can do to someone's mind."

…

Two weeks after that, it looked like Kirk had forgotten his plan to use baby animals as operatives. He said no more about it, and after a while, Kane also forgot about it.

Until one day, when Kane walked into an unused room and found at least six baby animals of different species, including a dog, a cat, and a turtle. Feeling both rage and confusion surge through him, Kane picked up the tiny kitten. It wasn't even old enough to see; it was hairless and blind.

"Kane!" gasped Kirk's voice.

Kane spun round to see Kirk in the doorway, looking both guilty and surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," snapped Kane. "What are you _doing_ with these baby animals?"

"Training them," Kirk replied. "Like I said I would. They're all children of OWCA agents."

Kane stared at his brother, feeling a stab of nausea hit his stomach. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I said I would!"

"I thought that was the sleep deprivation talking!" Kane couldn't believe his eyes and ears. "I can't believe you'd actually go through with this!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Kirk snapped. "You weren't helping me get agents!"

"We don't NEED agents!" Kane gently placed the kitten on the floor again and took an angry step towards his brother, who took a cautious one back. "We're a SCIENTIST organisation! Why do we need operatives?"

"To fight OWCA!" Kirk suddenly shouted. "We have to fight OWCA or it'll crush us!"

"Why will OWCA crush us?" Kane yelled. "Because you decided to steal their agents' kids! If you hadn't created the problem in the first place, it wouldn't need a solution!"

"You're so naïve, Kane!" Kirk bellowed. "Wake up and meet the real world! OWCA sees any organisation like a threat. It's only a matter of time before they decide to take us over and run us how THEY want. I can't let that happen, Kane! This organisation is my life!"

"It was mine too! Until I found out my psychotic brother is kidnapping week-old animals!"

"I'm not psychotic!" shrieked Kirk. "I'm just doing what needs to be done!"

"None of this is necessary," Kane snapped, gesturing at the baby animals behind him. "You've robbed these poor babies of their parents and their chance at an ordinary life. That's definitely not necessary."

"I knew you wouldn't get it," snarled Kirk. "I tried to convince myself that you would understand why I'm doing this and that you would help me, but now I realise I didn't know you as well as I thought I did."

"You don't know me at all!" Kane yelled. "If you knew me AT ALL, you'd know that I would never help you with this!"

"So what are you going to do?" taunted Kirk. "Leave?"

"Of course that's what I'm going to do," Kane snarled back, surprising both brothers.

"Really?" Kirk's voice changed to become lower and quieter. "You'd let this plan come in between our brothership?"

"Yes," replied Kane, equally as quietly. "As long as you're obsessed with this plan and beating OWCA, I can't stay here. You're becoming too extreme. I wanted to start this organisation with you because I loved the idea of being able to invent and do research with no restraint or limitations. I didn't want this organisation to become what you've turned it into."

With that Kane stormed past his brother and stopped in the doorway. "I'm sorry, Kirk. I'll always love you, brother, but I can't condone this."

Kirk turned away. "Fine. Leave. Turn on me, just like Kegan did."

Kane did not rise to the bait. "Goodbye, Kirk."

As Kane walked down the corridor, the eyes of both brothers filled with tears.

This was not what either of them truly wanted.

…

 ***cries* SO SAD! Has this helped you understand Kirk a bit more?**


	14. Tammy's Childhood

**Summary:** Tammy's childhood

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** chapter 12 of Music of Love or you won't know who this character is

…

My eyes opened for the first time and I saw the beautiful face of a silver rabbit. I was lying in her arms. This must have been my mother. I let out a squeak to tell her that I was hungry. She gave me a smile and fed me with her milk.

After this, she put me down on the ground. Seeing as my sight had not completely developed yet, everything was a colourful blob. I crawled as far as I could, before I bumped into something. It hurt my nose and I almost cried, but my curiosity as to what this object was overpowered my need to express my distress. I sniffed at the hard object. It was cold and scratchy and a weird colour.

"That's a plant pot," laughed a beautiful voice. My mother's voice.

"Plapo," I squeaked out, trying to pronounce the word as my mother had.

"Very close," my mother giggled.

I turned round and headed back in the direction I thought my mother was in, but then I bumped into something else. I leapt back a bit in fright, swiping at it with my tiny paw. My mother laughed again. "That's a wall."

"Wa?"

I felt hands pick me up and cradle me. I snuggled into my mother's soft and warm arms, not wanting her to let me go. She began stroking my ears. "We live in a den in Danville Forest," my mother told me. "Your father's out at the moment but he'll be back soon. He saw you when you were born but he hasn't properly met you yet."

"Momma," I said.

"That's right, I'm your momma." My vision still had not come into focus properly but I could tell that my mother was smiling. "My name is Jackie but you just call me Mother or Mom or Mommy."

"Momma!" I shrieked.

"Or Momma," laughed my mother.

At that moment, I heard a male voice call, "Jackie, I'm back. Where are you?"

"In the living room," Mother called back.

I turned my head, my vision almost perfect now. I saw a male white rabbit come through the entrance to the wooden den, looking rather disgruntled. "I'm going to kill that platypus agent one day."

"Hon, please can we not use the K word in front of Tammy?" Mother said reproachfully.

Father approached me and stroked my head, making me giggle. I looked up at him with my wide eyes, causing him to give a smile. "You're cute. Well, of course you are: you have your mother's genes."

Mother giggled. "Stop it Dennis. Look, she has your eyes."

"Yes she does." Father tickled me under my chin, to my delight. "But she has your everything else."

"Apart from your fur colour."

"Indeed."

The focus was not on me anymore so I waved my paws and gave an indignant squeal. "Momma!"

"How about you give Tammy her first bath?" Mother suggested.

Father smiled. "Okay."

…

I ran on the grass, feeling its softness beneath my feet, and jumped as high as I could, catching the Frisbee.

"Too low!" I teased, landing back on the ground and throwing the disk to my mother. "Throw it higher next time!"

"You know, for a one-year-old, you can jump really high." Mom leapt up and caught the Frisbee.

"I'm one and a half," I grinned.

She threw it back to me and I caught it. This time, however, I didn't throw it to her. I stopped and looked down at the ground.

"Mom, why did Dad leave us?"

Mom paused, a sad look settling on her face. "I didn't believe his one ambition in life was right. Difference of opinion, that's all."

"So…it wasn't because of me?"

Mom looked sharply up at me, shocked. "Of course not, sweetie! Why would you think it was because of you?"

"I heard you two arguing the day before he left," I replied, avoiding looking at my mother. "I heard you tell Dad that he was going to ruin me. He said he wanted to toughen me up and make sure I could defend myself."

"Honey…I didn't want you to hear that." Mom came over to me and put her arms around me. "He wanted to train you in fighting skills and turn you into something you're not."

"Why would that be such a bad thing?"

"Because you're energetic, full of life, sweet, innocent, and kind. If Dennis had been allowed to train you, he would have knocked all five of those qualities out of you. As your mother, I couldn't let that happen."

"But…Dad's good, isn't he?"

Mom hesitated and pulled away. She put her paws on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. "Tammy, I know you don't want to hear this, but…your father isn't good. He's very bad. He was always nice to me but he hates a lot of good people and the life goal of his that I mentioned is to kill an OWCA agent who is just doing his job. He's not a nice rabbit, Tam. It's better for both of us that he stays away."

"Okay," I replied, feeling tears come into my eyes.

Mom suddenly stood up straight, her nose twitching. "Do you smell something?"

I sniffed but I had been crying and my nose was blocked up. "No," I answered honestly.

Mom frowned and concentrated hard, her nose wiggling backwards and forwards. It would have been amusing to watch had my mother's worried tone not scared me so much.

"Fire…!" whispered Mom.

Then a crackling sound reached my ears. "Mom?" I cried in terror.

Orange flames suddenly appeared out of nowhere, consuming the trees around our den.

"Tammy, run!"

I immediately turned tail and ran through the trees, Mom right behind me. The orange flames appeared in front of us too, causing us to stop. We found ourselves surrounded by a circle of fire.

Mom picked me up. "Be safe, Tammy."

"Wh-what?"

Mom then threw me right over the wall of fire. I landed hard on the other side, injuring my foot. I hobbled as close to the fire as I could, searching for my mother. "Mom! MOM!"

"Go, Tammy! GO! Remember, sweetie: stay strong! I love you!"

The fire suddenly jerked, scaring me. With one last despairing look back at my mother, I limped as fast as I could away from her. Tears were running down my cheeks, both from losing my mother and the stinging smoke. My lungs were feeling heavy and I knew I wouldn't have the energy to make it much further.

I didn't notice that I had made it outside the forest until I saw buildings in the distance. I hobbled as far as I could away from the burning trees before I collapsed, the pain in my foot contributing to the dizziness I felt from smoke inhalation. Before I realised what was happening, blackness had overwhelmed me.

…

I opened my eyes and saw the beautiful silver face of my mother, just like when I had opened my eyes for the first time. "I must be dead," I croaked, my throat feeling dry and painful.

"You're not dead," said a male voice. "You're safe in OWCA headquarters."

MY vision came into focus, and the face of my mother was replaced by the face of a teal platypus.

"You're a survivor of the Danville Forest Fire," the platypus continued. "So far, you're the only one we've found."

"My mother died," I croaked. "She was in there." I struggled to sit up. "Are you an OWCA agent?"

"Yes. My name is Perry the Platypus."

"D-do you know a rabbit named Dennis?"

Perry's whole demeanour changed. He seemed harder and colder. "Yes. He's one of my worst enemies."

"He's also…my father…"

Perry stared at me. "That explains the fur colour."

"I know he's done some horrible things, though I don't know exactly what. I'm not like him. I was raised mainly by my mother, who's really kind and caring. Now I have nowhere to go except to my father, but I will never join him. He's a bad rabbit."

Perry frowned and looked down at the ground. "If you're willing, I can train you to become an OWCA agent. It's hard work but you get to be adopted by a family and sent on regular missions."

I nodded hurriedly. "Yes. I want to join OWCA."

So I did.

…

 ***cries* poor Tammy :(**


	15. Little Brother

**Summary:** brother bonding

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** Hermes's Struggle (absolutely crucial)

…

 **Priya's POV**

When I reach my office cubicle in the morning, I find two of my children in the middle of a rare, heated argument. I frown and keep out of sight as I watch the two blow up at each other.

"I don't get why you keep ignoring and avoiding me!" Hermes is shouting angrily. "I've done nothing to you!"

"If you don't see why I avoid you, then you definitely didn't inherit Mom's intelligence," Teddy snaps.

Hermes doesn't seem wounded by this. "Then I didn't inherit Mom's intelligence. Pretend I'm the thickest person on Earth and lay it out for me!"

"Why don't you get Anke or one of our sisters to explain it to you?" snaps Teddy. "Even they know."

"Do you know how much it hurts to be ignored by your only brother?" Hermes yells. "Even Hazel and Quinn talk to me and actually act like I'm even there! Why can't you?"

"Hmm, perhaps it's the fact that you could literally kill anybody you wanted, when you wanted to!"

 _This_ wounds Hermes. His paws cover his beak in shock as he stares at his brother. Then his hands leave his mouth, he snaps, "I can't believe you just said that," and he races out of the office, past me.

I storm into my office and grab Teddy's wrist, making him yelp in pain. "You are going to go after your brother and you are going to apologise," I order him. "Now."

 **Teddy's POV**

Even I can recognise that what I said was wrong. I quickly run out of Mom's office and catch up to Hermes by the elevator. He has just stepped inside, and that's how I know that he's desperate to get away from me: both Hermes and I are claustrophobic, and we hate elevators for fear of getting trapped inside them. However, I think he's more claustrophobic than me.

I dart into the elevator just as the doors close. "Go away," my little brother snaps.

I'm about to say something back when the elevator suddenly shudders as it breaks down.

 **Hermes's POV**

"Oh no…" I can feel my breathing speeding up as my heart rate increases. Sweat trickles down my face as I bash on the doors. "No, no, no!"

I quickly slam the panic button. "Get me out of here!" I yell desperately.

"Hermes, calm down."

Teddy places his hand on my shoulder.

"Stay away from me!" I shriek, pushing him away.

Without touching him.

I flinch in horror as I see Teddy hit the side of the elevator a lot harder than he would have if I had pushed him with only my hands.

"No, no, no, this can't be happening!" I shrink against the wall as Teddy looks at me. "Leave me alone!"

Then I see Teddy's facial expression.

He's scared of me.

And no wonder. I just used my powers against him. Something I vowed I would never do, not even accidentally.

I sink to the ground and cover my eyes as tears flow from them. Now my brother hates me, I'm stuck in an elevator with him, and my claustrophobia is kicking in. Through my blurry vision, I see Teddy approach me. "Stay away from me!" I yell hurriedly "I don't have any control!"

But Teddy keeps coming. I think of holding out my hand to stop him but I know that's a risky idea, with my powers being as out of control as they are right now. Besides, my claustrophobia isn't letting me think rationally.

He sits down next to me and puts his arms around me. I struggle initially, but the risk of me accidentally using my powers again just increases so I give in and let him hug me.

"Just breathe," he instructs. "Breathe slow."

Even though all I want to do is scream in terror, I do as my brother says. I rhythmically breathe in and out.

"How come you're not being affected by claustrophobia?" I ask.

"Oh, I am." Teddy, unintentionally I'm sure, lets some fear into his voice. "Trust me, I am." His voice is almost a squeak at that point. He clears his throat and says, "But my little brother needs me."

 **Teddy's POV**

I see Hermes look distrustfully up at me. "Are you sure you don't want to stay away?" he asks bitterly. "After all, I could kill you whenever I wanted to."

Hearing my own harsh words reflected back at me makes me flinch. "I-I didn't mean it…"

"Oh really?" His voice is full of scorn. "That's why you've been avoiding and ignoring me, isn't it? You think I'll lose control and kill you."

It wasn't a question but I still feel like I have to provide an answer. "All right, yes."

He stares at me. "What?"

"Ever since you came home, I've had this horrible feeling in the back of my chest. Whenever you walk past me, I feel a nervous twinge. I know I wouldn't be feeling like this if you didn't have your powers. Whenever I even see you, I feel a sudden urge to rush to my children to protect them, which makes me feel awful. You've been nothing but amazing and talented and kind and generally an all-round good guy, yet I still feel a hint of distrust towards you. I hate it so much."

I don't dare look at my brother's face for fear of seeing what he's thinking.

"That's why I hate talking or thinking about your past, mostly because of the selfish reason that if I do, I start comparing what I've been through with what you've been through, and my past troubles seem extremely dull compared to yours." I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling a few tears fall down my face. My voice dies to a whisper. "I hate everything in my mind and heart that fears you but I-I-I can't control it any more than you can control your powers in a stuck elevator. I-I'm so sorry. If I could control the way I feel, I would make myself not fear you but I can't not fear what I can't understand. I'm…I'm sorry…"

 **Hermes's POV**

I fall silent as I digest this information. It makes a lot of sense and explains a lot of things but it also hurts, hearing my own brother admit that he's afraid of me. I wish I could control the way he feels too, but neither of us can, and that's something I need to take into account when I'm deciding whether to hate my brother or not.

 **Teddy's POV**

I wait anxiously for Hermes to speak. I hope he forgives me, even though I don't deserve it.

When he does speak, it's clear that the words he uses are very carefully thought through. "I know we couldn't be more different," he says slowly. "It's clear that we're both a mixture of Mom and Dad's genes but we've inherited a different mixture. That would make it difficult for us to see eye-to-eye even if I didn't have these powers. But the fact remains that I have them and there's nothing I can or want to do about that. And I know that there will always be people who fear my powers, which I know is natural. People will always fear what they can't understand or control. I-."

 **Hermes's POV**

All of a sudden, searing pain wracks my body. I let out a scream and wrench away from Teddy, who scrambles backwards in horror and alarm. "Hermes?"

I curl up in a ball with my eyes tightly shut, trying to bear the pain. It's happened before and I barely survived that time.

And this time, I don't have my medicine. I left it in Mom's office accidentally.

I hear Teddy's voice: "Hermes, you gotta stay with me! Stay with me! Just focus on my voice, okay? Y-you're gonna be fine! You're gonna b-be fine…!"

He's clutching my hand but I can't feel it very well. All my senses are going numb and I feel like I'm about to explode.

 **Teddy's POV**

I reach up and slam the panic button over and over and over again, needing someone to come now. This must have loosened something; the elevator rumbles to life. It goes down to the ground floor and the doors open. Waiting for us is a team of medics, including my sister Quinn.

"Get him to Apollo!" I order them, picking my shaking brother up. "He has the medicine."

Quinn helps me put Hermes onto a stretcher, before the medics quickly race him towards the medical bay.

Even though I'm very worried about my brother, I'm actually glad. I'm glad I was able to say all the things that had been on my mind for years and years.

I think our relationship just improved more in a ten minute chat while stuck in an elevator than in three and a half years.

…

 **Don't worry guys, Hermes will be fine :) I love him too much to kill him off in a one-shot XD**


	16. Stars In Their Eyes

**Summary:** Kane and Mavis go undercover at a fancy ball

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot:** none, really

…

Mavis stepped self-consciously through the grand doors, smoothing down her long, purple ball gown for what must have been the hundredth time.

"Relax, Mavis," Kane said as he fell into step next to her. OWCA's mission controller was wearing a smart black tuxedo with a black bow tie. "You look beautiful."

"I hate dresses," sighed Mavis. "Why did Rodrigo have to come _here_ of all places?"

Kane shrugged and offered Mavis his arm. Linking arms with him, Mavis continued walking towards the main ballroom, which, as they found, was below them. They realised they were standing on a balcony.

"Why did _we_ have to be the ones to come?" Mavis grumbled, fixing her brown hair, which was up in a fancy style.

"Because everyone else in is either not fancy enough or an animal," Kane replied, grinning. "Come on, I know you don't like fancy things, but neither do I, so let's suffer together, okay?"

Mavis sighed again. "Okay."

Kane took Mavis's hand and led her onto the dance floor, just as the Major Domo announced that the next dance was to be a waltz.

"Can you dance a waltz?" Kane asked quietly as everyone took their places.

Mavis grimaced. "A little. I'm not an expert, but I have practised a bit. You?"

"Got to the regional ballroom dance finals when I was thirteen. Won it when I was fifteen and sixteen. All three times were for the waltz."

Kane laughed aloud at the stricken look on Mavis's face. "It's okay, I'll guide you."

Mavis still looked worried, so Kane gently moved her arms into the correct positions, just in time for the music starting. Mavis was a little nervous at first, but as Kane guided her, she became lost in the moment. She was in very close proximity to her boyfriend, something that always made her heart beat faster. She could feel her dress swirling round as they twirled. The first time Kane dipped her, she let out a short gasp and clutched his sleeves, fearing that she was going to fall. Kane just gave her a loving smile. "I will never let you fall," he said. "I hope you know that."

Mavis smiled back. "Of course."

Kane pulled Mavis back up and they continued the dance. However, this time, Mavis's eyes were glancing around the room. She had slipped into agent mode.

"I see Rodrigo," she said softly to Kane. "Next time we twirl, he's sitting on the seat to the right of the fountain."

Sure enough, Kane spotted the LOVEMUFFIN scientist sitting in a royal-looking chair next to an ornate fountain. How he was able to sit there and not be splashed by the large fountain was beyond Kane. Rodrigo seemed to be talking to a woman next to him.

"Gotcha," Kane muttered. "So how do we get him?"

"We can't with all these people around," Mavis replied. "So for now, we may as well enjoy the waltz."

"It's almost over," Kane pointed out.

As if on cue, the music came to an end and everyone stopped dancing. The Major Domo announced the next dance, and all of a sudden, more people flooded onto the dance floor. Mavis, who did not fare well in large crowds, immediately shoved her way through the crowd in a panic. Trying to find her, Kane spotted her running out onto a balcony.

When he went out onto the stone balcony, he found Mavis standing with her hands resting on the stone railing.

"Are you doing okay?" Kane asked her.

Mavis nodded without turning round. "I just needed some fresh air. I don't like large crowds."

"That much is obvious."

Mavis huffed. "Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to, Mr I-have-no-fears."

Kane felt stung by that. He went to stand next to Mavis at the railing and gazed steadily at her until she eventually turned her head reluctantly to look at him. "You think I have no fears?" he said quietly.

Mavis looked quickly away. "You just never seem to be scared."

Kane raised his eyebrows. "I hope you know that when I walked into this ballroom, I was so scared I thought I was going to pass out."

Mavis snorted. "You?"

"Yes." Kane placed his hand on Mavis's wrist. "Everyone has fears, Mavie. I'm scared of the open sea because it seems to go on forever. I'm scared of the dark because I can't see anything that might be coming to attack me. I'm scared of being abandoned because my father walked out on me and my brothers when I was ten. I'm scared of spiders and I have no idea why that is. Being scared keeps people alert, Mavie. There's no shame in fear. Only when you assign shame to fear do you have reason to be ashamed."

Mavis sighed. "Why, Kane Kennedy?"

Kane frowned. "Why what?"

The corner of Mavis's mouth turned up in a wry smile. "Why are you so good at being right?"

Kane matched her smile. "I had a wise mother."

"Are you sure it was your mother and not your charming brothers who were the wise ones?"

"Excuse me, what?" Kane almost choked on air. "Have you even _met_ Kirk and Kegan?"

"Nope. One of them makes killer robots and the other leads an evil organisation. Clearly, you're the only one who turned out okay."

Kane smiled sneakily at Mavis. "Just okay?"

Mavis swatted his arm. "You know what I mean, smarty. You're the only one who turned out good."

"Just good?"

Mavis rolled her eyes humorously. "Do you want me to keep going?"

"No." Kane's face turned serious. "I can see it all in your sparkly brown eyes."

"Do you know what I can see in _your_ eyes?" Mavis asked, putting her arms around Kane's neck.

"What can you see?"

"First of all, you have the same colour eyes as me but different eye colours to both your brothers."

Kane let out a short laugh. "And here I was thinking you were going to say something romantic."

"I wasn't finished," Mavis said. "Second of all, I see stars. I see an unparalleled optimistic view of the world in the eyes of someone who has more reason than most to have a pessimistic view of the world. That's one of the many things I love about you, Kane."

"I love you too, Mavis."

Mavis smiled and hugged Kane. "Thank you for making me feel better."

"Like I said: I love you, Mavie. I don't like seeing you upset."

As they broke apart, Mavis suddenly spotted something inside. "Rodrigo's on the move," she said. "Let's go get him."

Kane grinned as Mavis took off running back inside. "That's my girl," he said, before following.


	17. Powerful Grief

**Summary:** Grief

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This Oneshot:** none. It's a standalone story that doesn't really take place in any particular universe.

 **Warning: this oneshot contains the theme of suicide, so please don't read if this upsets you.**

…

Kane Kennedy was sat at his desk, clutching an old family photograph, and sobbing mutedly into his sleeve. His head ached and his eyes hurt, but he couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Why? Why had it happened? Why did it have to happen? Why did it have to happen to THEM of all people? The man and woman who had consistently been in his life since he was born…and to top it all off… _her…_

Kane stood up, still clutching the family photograph. He numbly headed down the stairs and accidentally bumped into Perry, who was heading in the direction of Major Monogram's office.

"Kane…is everything okay? You…you look like you've been crying," the small platypus observed.

"My-my cousin just phoned," Kane said hoarsely. "Th-there was a car accident back home…my uncle and aunt are…they didn't…" Kane squeezed his eyes shut to try and avoid crying in front of Perry.

The teal platypus looked stricken. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you going to be okay?"

Kane nodded numbly. "I…should be fine. I wasn't that close…anyway…"

"You're a terrible liar at the best of times," Perry said, folding his arms. "You're not going to be okay. Do you need anything? Do you want to go home?"

"I'm not going home," Kane said. "There are too many things I have to work on right now. I just need a drink and I'll get back to work."

"Maybe you should see Artemis," Perry said doubtfully. "Or even Apollo."

"I'm fine, Perry. It's just been a bit of a shock."

Perry finally caved in. "Alright, but if you need anything, just tell me, okay?"

Kane nodded expressionlessly. "Thanks," he said monotonously. "I will."

Perry still looked doubtful, but he gave one last smile before carrying on past Kane and down the corridor.

Kane went to the water cooler, just as he said he was going to, and got himself a cup of water. Instead of drinking it, however, he just stared morosely at it.

"I won't even be able to bury you, Mom," he whispered. "You're all the way in Oregon and I'm here. I'm so sorry, Mom…Uncle Morgan…Aunt Jennifer…all of you. I won't be able to say my final goodbye."

"Kane?"

The voice caused Kane to jump in fright, dropping his cup of water, which hit the ground and spread the water everywhere.

"I wasn't crying!" he yelped immediately, turning.

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "You do know who you're talking to, right? I'm a psychiatrist."

"And I'm no psychiatrist, but even I can tell you've been crying," Apollo said, frowning. "Kane, you can tell us anything. Are you okay?"

Kane shook his head. "No…not really. I just got the news that three members of my family were killed in a car accident yesterday."

Apollo's eyes widened. "Oh, Kane…"

The twins gently pulled Kane into a comforting hug. Despite knowing he could count on his friends to not judge him, Kane did not cry. He simply rested his head on Apollo's shoulder and allowed his heart to throb.

"Do you need anything?" Artemis asked gently. "The best strategy for dealing with grief is contact with friends."

Kane shook his head and pulled away. "I want to be alone for a while, guys. Thanks for being here."

"Anytime," Apollo said, but Artemis was scrutinising Kane closely.

"You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?" she said suspiciously.

"Define stupid," retorted Kane.

Artemis gazed into Kane's eyes. "Kane-."

"I'll be fine, honestly," Kane interrupted. "Okay?"

Apollo and Artemis glanced at each other, but they apparently decided that there was nothing to worry about; they also gave Kane one last smile, before continuing on their way.

Kane made sure they were gone. Then he went up the stairs and opened the cold door to the roof.

The night air was chilly, and it was completely dark. Stars twinkled in the sky above him, like a million tiny connect-the-dots drawings. He went to the edge of the roof and looked down. It was a long drop. Long enough to kill him.

He wondered why he was contemplating jumping off the roof. The pain in his heart was great, absolutely, but…was it really enough for him to kill himself?

Yes, he decided. His mother had been with him for twenty-four years. Her passing in such a sudden accident was devastating. Grief clouded his vision and judgement. He didn't want to live in a world where his mother wasn't there beside her. Now she'd never see Kane and Mavis get married, as Kane had planned. She'd never meet any future grandchildren Kane would have. Never again would Kane entertain her with funny stories or tell her the things he'd accomplished in order to make her proud or smell her favourite lavender shampoo whenever they embraced.

She was gone, and it hurt Kane so much that he wanted the pain to stop by any means necessary.

He stepped onto the ledge and looked down, feeling the chilly wind on his arms and torso. Was he really going to jump?

 _Yes._ _I'm coming, Mom._

 _Wait,_ said a voice inside Kane's head that sounded suspiciously like his mother's. _Kane, what are you doing?_

 _I want to be with you,_ Kane thought. _I wasn't there when you died, Mom. I'm sorry._

 _Kane, if this is how you're handling the news, I'm glad you weren't there,_ said his mother's amused and sardonic voice. _My Kane…I love you so much. You know that, right?_

"Of course," Kane croaked aloud.

"KANE!" yelled a voice, causing Kane to flail. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Kane turned to see a horrified Mavis standing on the roof, staring at Kane. "The twins told me that-oh, Kane!" she cried.

Kane looked down at the floor. "My mother was killed in a car accident," he said, his heart hurting even more now that he had finally said it aloud. "My aunt and uncle too. The pain…it's too much. I-I can't…I can't bear it…"

"But you don't have to go through this alone," Mavis said pleadingly. "That's what friends and family are for, Kane. I won't let you suffer alone." She took a step towards Kane and held out her hand. "Please, Kane. D-don't jump."

"I can't live without my mother," Kane cried.

"And I can't live without you!" Mavis cried. "If you die, I die! It's just like that stupid play _Rudolph and Jemima."_

" _Romeo and Juliet_ ," Kane chuckled weakly.

"Exactly. Remember how much we used to make fun of it and the stupid way the two of them "solved" their situation? Well, that's exactly what's going to happen if you jump. Don't kill our love, Kane. And I'm being deadly serious when I say that. Please don't kill yourself. I love you; I can help you recover from this. It-it isn't the end of the world."

Kane met Mavis's eyes and shakily nodded, accepting her hand. Mavis gently helped Kane off the roof and embraced him tightly. Surrendering to the pain, Kane began to sob uncontrollably.

"I got you," Mavis whispered comfortingly. "I got you. I'm never leaving you. You know that, right?"

Kane could only nod.

He was thankful to have a girlfriend like Mavis.


	18. The Monogram Siblings

**Summary:** an afternoon in the Monogram household

 **Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This Oneshot:** none. It's a standalone story that doesn't really take place in any particular universe.

…

Sighing heavily, Marius Monogram entered the house and flung his schoolbag on the floor. As he entered the living room, his twin sister Meredith looked up and grinned. She was lying on the sofa, reading a magazine. "How was school?" she asked.

"School was fine," growled Marius, flopping onto the sofa next to Meredith, who quickly took her legs out of the way. He winced as he stretched his aching limbs. "It was the afterschool football class that really ruined my day."

"You got tackled," guessed Meredith.

"Like twenty times," Marius growled. "I don't understand why football classes are mandatory, especially after school, ESPECIALLY after school on a day where I wanted to go out and paint."

"I have news for you," Meredith grinned. "It wasn't mandatory."

"What?" Marius stared at her. "Then why did I have to do it?"

"Because Monty signed you up without your knowledge."

"He WHAT?!"

"I'm home!" called a cheery voice.

Marius pointed sharply towards the door just a second after Monty came into the doorway. "YOU!" he yelled.

Monty's eyes widened and he held up his hands in surrender. "Uh…what?"

Then he saw Meredith's expression; it was like the cat that got the cream. And he understood.

"So how was football?" he asked, smirking.

Marius launched himself off the sofa and managed to tackle Monty in the gut, knocking them both to the ground. "Exactly like that for most of it, actually," snarled Marius.

"Guys, you're so annoying," growled Mavis, the final Monogram sibling, as she came down the stairs, holding an open binder with colour-coded notes in it. "Some of us are trying to do homework."

"Some of us aren't massive nerds," shot back Marius, earning him a kick from Mavis.

"Some of us actually want to pass our exams and succeed in life," Mavis retorted.

Marius folded his arms. "Some of us realise that we don't have to do homework the day we get it."

"Some of us-."

"Now who's being annoying?" Meredith put her feet up on the coffee table, crossed them, and went back to reading her magazine. "Seriously: shush."

Like a mouse, Monty scurried over to Meredith and jabbed her in the ribs. Meredith let out a shriek and hit Monty with her magazine, which did literally nothing to hurt her brother. Then Monty began tickling Meredith mercilessly, while Mavis and Marius watched.

"Why is this family so weird?" groaned Marius.

"I have no idea," Mavis replied.

That was how things were in the Monogram household; one minute, two of the siblings could be at each other's throats, the next minute, they could be making casual remarks to the other about something random.

"So where's Dad?" Marius asked.

"Where do you think?" sighed Mavis. "At the office. Where he spends all his time nowadays."

"Then I guess it's up to us to cook dinner," Marius said. "As usual."

Mavis snorted. "You mean it's up to ME to cook dinner. You miscreants never do anything to help."

"And that's my fault why?"

Mavis shoved Marius away from her and stormed back upstairs with her binder.

Marius headed into the living room and was just in time to stop Meredith from using the table lamp as a weapon.

"Stop," he ordered, stretching out his hands to stop Monty and Meredith from attacking each other. "This is getting ridiculous."

"You're telling me," muttered Monty.

"Look, we only fight like this when Dad isn't here," Marius continued. "So I get why we're fighting more and more nowadays. But it has to stop, okay? Monty, you're the oldest. You should be the one doing this pep talk."

Monty sighed. "I know. I'm just under a lot of pressure right now."

"Want to talk about it?" Marius asked.

Monty smirked. "Not with you two."

Marius raised his eyebrow. "Is there a particular reason for that?"

"Nope." Monty left the room.

Marius rolled his eyes and dragged Meredith to her feet. "Come on, let's get dinner started. There's a pizza in the fridge."

"It's half past five."

"I'm hungry."

Meanwhile, Monty headed into the room he shared with Marius and shut the door. Since it was a small-ish house, the two male siblings shared a room and the two female siblings shared a room. Flopping onto his bed, he let out a long groan into his pillow.

A few seconds later, the door to his room opened. "Your muffled emotion was disturbing me," Mavis's voice said wryly. "Everything okay?"

"It's fine," Monty replied. "It's not like Dad is pressuring me to do something I don't want to do."

It was out on the table, now, and there was no turning back.

Mavis hummed, understanding. "This is about the lessons, isn't it?"

"Recently, I've been looking into OWCA's human agent training course," Monty said. "Yesterday, Dad found out about it. He was really mad."

"That's what you two were yelling about last night in the kitchen, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Monty groaned. "He said he didn't want me throwing my life away as an OWCA agent; he'd rather I do what he couldn't when he was my age."

"So…" Mavis frowned. "He wants you to follow his own dream, not in his own footsteps?"

"Exactly. It's stupid, isn't it?"

"Very." Mavis sat down on the bed next to Monty. "What do you truly want to do?"

"Join OWCA," replied Monty instantly. "It's all I've ever wanted."

"Then do what YOU want to do," Mavis said. "Don't let Dad decide."

"But Dad DOES decide," Monty said miserably. "He's the leader of OWCA. He can choose whether to accept me into OWCA or not, and he won't accept me."

"Then the four of us will protest," Mavis said firmly. "If he denies you, the four of us will boycott this house."

Monty chuckled. "How does that work?"

"We stay away from the house and from Dad until he agrees to let you into OWCA."

Monty chuckled again. "You're a great sister, Mavie."

"I know. Now c'mon, let's go start dinner."

As they walked down the stairs, they heard the sound of an electrical fan. "Is that the microwave?" asked Monty doubtfully. "Pizza is cooked in the oven, isn't it?"

Mavis sighed. "Great, now we have to rescue Marius and Meredith before they burn the house down."

Monty grinned as he watched his sister hurry down the rest of the stairs and burst into the kitchen.

There was never a dull moment in the Monogram household.


End file.
